Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has urged the Government to interpret loosely a new directive from the European Union.
The proposed EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications is aimed at protecting identities and reducing the amount of spam or junk e-mail that businesses receive.
The chamber called on Laurie Heizler, expert IT solicitor at 180-strong Leamington law firm Wright Hassall, to help decipher the legislation.
He has warned that the law change could be over -prescriptive and not allow enough freedom for legitimate marketing firms to go about their business.
He said: There is a wide perception that the new laws will be incredibly draconian - a fear that the new Privacy Regulations will inhibit electronic marketing out of all proportion.
In some cases, the current Data Protection Act (DPA) suffices, especially when you consider that not all spamming is necessarily abusive or offensive.
Most e-mail recipients recognise an unsolicited commercial communication for what it is and can eliminate it at the touch of a button without feeling unduly inconvenienced.
But few people deny the senders right to advertise its interest. Where personal data is used without consent to compile the database of recipients, the DPA already provides remedies for those who wish to be removed from the mailing list.
The present mechanism of seeking consent from potential recipients is increasingly well understood and does not need to change to a Catch 22-style scenario, where consent needs to be obtained from potential recipients, who cannot receive unsolicited e-mails requesting such consent in the first place.
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